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T R O U B L E D   C O M P A N Y   R E P O R T E R     
  
             A S I A   P A C I F I C      

      Thursday, February 18, 1999, Vol. 2, No. 34

                    Headlines


* C H I N A   &   H O N G   K O N G *

GUANGDONG ENTERPRISES: Firm's debt threatens HK economy


* J A P A N *

LONG TERM CREDIT: To unwind loan securitization program


* P H I L I P P I N E S *

PHILIPPINE TELEGRAPH: On the lookout for foreign partner


* T H A I L A N D *

ALPHATEC: ECID ready to file criminal charges
QUALITY HOUSES: Denies restructuring plan failure
SAMART: Transfer of subsidiaries' assets for debt repayment      
THAI MODERN: Submits plan for approval
THAI OIL: PTT plans reduction in Thai Oil's debt burden


=================================
C H I N A   &   H O N G   K O N G
=================================

GUANGDONG ENTERPRISES: Firm's debt threatens HK economy
-------------------------------------------------------
Guangdong Enterprises (Holdings) Ltd., the main trading and
investment arm of the prosperous province adjoining Hong
Kong has failed to pay $680 million in overdue loans and is
in talks with its creditors to try to reschedule $2.94
billion in debt. The stakes are high for the Hong Kong-
incorporated company: If just one of its more than 80
creditors calls in $10 million in overdue loans, that will
trigger the default of other debts, throwing the company
into liquidation.

The stakes are even bigger for Hong Kong, where bank loans
equal about 140% of gross domestic product -- one of the
highest levels in Asia. Bankers here worry that if the
restructuring fails, it could start a domino effect in
which banks pull loans to other Chinese state-owned
companies in Hong Kong.

Guangdong Enterprises' restructuring, one of the largest
ever attempted in Hong Kong, won't be a cakewalk. Man
creditors already face losses from their loans to its
sister company, Guangdong International Trust & Investment
Corp., or Gitic, which went into liquidation last month.
While Guangdong provincial officials pledged to keep
Guangdong Enterprises afloat, they have signaled that
bankers shouldn't expect a bailout in which they get back
all their loans. (Wall Street Journal 17-Feb-1999)


=========
J A P A N  
=========

LONG TERM CREDIT: To unwind loan securitization program
-------------------------------------------------------
The Long-Term Credit Bank of Japan, Limited, said today
that, as part of the Bank's previously announced plan to
withdraw from its operations outside Japan, the Bank is
seeking to unwind the Platinum Commercial Loan Master
Trust I.

To facilitate this effort, the Bank is requesting each
investor in the Trust to provide its consent to amendments
to the transaction documentation to permit payment in full
on or about March 4, 1999, of the principal amount of, and
accrued and unpaid interest on, the Class A and Class B
Floating Rate Asset Backed Certificates, Series 1997-A,
issued by the Trust.

The proposed amendments will not be effective unless: (1)
the written consent of certificate holders of record as of
the close of business on February 18, 1999, representing
not less than 66- 2/3% of the outstanding principal amount
of certificates is received; (2) both Moody's Investor's
Service and Standard & Poor's Ratings Group confirm that
the ratings of the certificates will not be reduced below
their current levels or withdrawn (prior to the repurchase
and cancellation of the certificates) as a result of such
repurchase; and (3) the principal amount of, and accrued
and unpaid interest on, the certificates is actually paid
to investors on or about March 4, 1999.

Moody's Investors Service and Standard & Poor's have
already provided the ratings confirmations referred to
above. Subject to such investor consent, payment on or
about March 4, 1999 will be made to certificate holders of
record as of the close of business on February 25, 1999.

For further information for certificate holders, please
contact Chase Bank of Texas, National Association, the
Trustee of the Trust, by calling Oscar Trevino at (713)
216-3153. For media inquiries, please contact Burson-
Marsteller by calling John Bohn at (212) 614-4215 or Gerry
Elias at (212) 614-4263. (Business Wire; 02/16/99)


NEC CORP: Results announcement
------------------------------
Shares of NEC Corp. fell 1 yen to 1,055. It was the
fourth most active stock with about 6.5 million shares
traded. Japan's largest maker of personal computers and
computer chips will report a record group net loss of 150
billion yen to 200 billion yen for the year through March,
compared with its initial forecast of a 35 billion yen
loss, the Nihon Keizai newspaper said, without citing
sources.

President Hisashi Kaneko will resign to take the blame for
the company's financial trouble. NEC's earnings will be
worse than expected because of the deteriorating
profitability of its semiconductor and communications
equipment divisions and the weak performance of its
subsidiaries. The company declined to comment on the
report. (Bloomberg 17-Feb-1999)


NIPPON CREDIT BANK: Authorities denied NCB insolvency
-----------------------------------------------------
Japan's regulatory authorities gave assurances that Nippon
Credit Bank was not insolvent to a screening panel studying
an infusion of public funds into the bank, which failed
last December, a member of the now-dissolved panel said
Tuesday.

Takashi Imai, chairman of the Federation of Economic
Organizations, or Keidanren, who was a member of the
Financial Crisis Management Committee of Deposit Insurance
Corp., said in an interview with Jiji Press that he
repeatedly asked the Ministry of Finance and the Bank of
Japan whether their inspections had found NCB insolvent.

Imai said that the bank's documents showed the existence of
loans to affiliates that may have been bad loan transfers.
He said he sought confirmation from the authorities because
it was unclear whether such loans were aimed at hiding bad
loans. (Jiji Press English News 16-Feb-1999)


NIPPON CREDIT BANK: Mitsui and Chuo Trust consider takeover
-----------------------------------------------------------
The top leaders of Mitsui Trust and Banking Co. and Chuo
Trust and Banking Co., set to merge on April 1, 2000, have
said they will decide on a possible takeover of
nationalized Nippon Credit Bank based on long-term
prospects.

Chuo Trust President Shozo Endo said in an interview with
Jiji Press that his bank has no clear idea about acquiring
NCB at the moment, since it is not known how the failed
bank will fare under nationalization procedures. If NCB
cleans up its soured loan portfolios, it would be a step
toward its rehabilitation, he said.

The merger between Mitsui Trust and Chuo Trust, announced
last month, will create Japan's second largest bank after
Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi in terms of funds available for
loans and investment. Such funds at the two banks total  
some 41 trillion yen. (Jiji Press English News 16-Feb-1999)


NSK LTD: Results announcement
-----------------------------
Shares of NSK Ltd. rose 6 yen to 466 after it said it will
cut 11 percent of its domestic workforce and close a
factory following its first full-year net loss since 1949.
Japan's largest maker of bearings said it expects to post a
group net loss of 5 billion yen for the year ending in
March, reversing from an earlier net profit forecast of 7
billion yen. That's also lower than Toyo Keizai's forecast
of a 7 billion yen profit. (Bloomberg 17-Feb-1999)


TONEN CORP: Results announcement
--------------------------------
Shares of Tonen Corp. fell 8 yen to 617. The petroleum
products maker reported a group net loss of 6.59 billion
yen for the year ended Dec. 31, down from a net profit of
8.11 billion yen a year ago. That's worse than Toyo
Keizai's forecast of a 6.7 billion yen loss.
(Bloomberg 17-Feb-1999)


TOYO TRUST: May withdraw from overseas operations
-------------------------------------------------
Toyo Trust and Banking Co. is considering withdrawing from
its overseas banking operations, and Sanwa Bank, the trust
bank's business partner, is likely to take up part of Toyo
Trust's overseas business, bank sources said Wednesday.

Toyo Trust, the second smallest of the nation's seven trust
banks, decided in November to withdraw from lending in
overseas markets, but planned to maintain its asset
management and fund settlement operations at two offices in
New York and London. The bank, however, is now considering
a complete withdrawal from overseas business to concentrate
on domestic operations, the bank sources said. (Kyodo News
17-Feb-1999)


=====================
P H I L I P P I N E S
=====================

PHILIPPINE TELEGRAPH: On the lookout for foreign partner
--------------------------------------------------------
The Santiago-owned telecommunications firm, Philippine
Telegraph and Telephone Corp. (PT&T) expects to finalize
negotiations with creditors on the restructuring of its
seven-billion-peso debts, so as to refocus attention on the
company's search for a foreign partner.

In a telephone interview, a PT&T executive told
BusinessWorld that the company included in its proposal to
creditors the possible entry of a foreign investor to
assist the company.

A BusinessWorld source said US-based telephony supplier
Qualcomm, Inc. could be PT&T's foreign partner. Qualcomm
has an existing credit and supply agreement with PT&T for
its telephone line rollout.

PT&T submitted a restructuring proposal to creditors last
November 18 and December 22, 1998, in a disclosure to the
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said. The company
said it is putting more emphasis on its latter proposal to
the banks, which includes the foreign partner option. PT&T
has 5.619 billion Philippine pesos (PhP) in long term and
current loans and PhP1.24 billion in notes payable,
documents from the SEC show. (BusinessWorld 17-Feb-1999)


===============
T H A I L A N D
===============

ALPHATEC: ECID ready to file criminal charges
---------------------------------------------
The Economic Crime Investigation Division (ECID) has
wrapped up a legal brief on the case of Alphatec
Electronics (ATEC) founder and former shareholder Charn
Usawachoke and another 11 executives filed by ATEC and the
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) last year.

"It is expected that ECID will soon submit the case to the
Interior Ministry and request permission to issue arrest
warrants for ATEC's founder and 11 executives," said a
source.

ATEC and SEC filed a joint lawsuit against the company's
founder, Charn Uswachoke, and 11 executives for allegedly
falsifying documents for personal gain.

A source from ECID said that after the division had
carefully investigated the accusation and concluded that
there was sufficient evidence in the case to seek arrest
warrants. Based on information collected from various
banks, there were grounds for allegations of document
falsification, particularly on accounts, cheques, and
documents leading to company expenditures of 10 billion
baht.

"If an arrest warrant were issued for ATEC's founder, he
would have to provide assets of no less than 20 million
baht to bail himself out," said a source.

A source from Krung Thai Legal Office said that KTB, as a
creditor of ATEC, would also file a lawsuit against Charn
Uswachoke for damages to the company.

Lawsuits against Charn Uswachoke have been filed in both
the criminal and civil courts. Lawsuits have been filed in
three civil courts, namely the Central Labour Court, Civil
Court and Civil Court of Southern Bangkok.

Price Waterhouse Coopers filed lawsuits under ATEC's name
with the Civil Court last July. The court is currently
interviewing witnesses in two cases, one against Charn
Uswachoke. (Business Day [Thailand] 17-Feb-1999)


QUALITY HOUSES: Denies restructuring plan failure
-------------------------------------------------
Quality Houses Pcl has denied a rumor about the failure of
its financial restructuring plan. The company says the
restructuring plan is still under negotiation with lenders.
(Stock Exchange of Thailand 17-Feb-1999)


SAMART: Transfer of subsidiaries' assets for debt repayment      
-----------------------------------------------------------
Samart Corporation Plc. (SAMART) approved the acceptance of
assets to be transferred from Oradee Com Co., Ltd (formerly
Samart Satcom Co., Ltd.) of the amount Baht 129,176,154.16
as part of debt repayment. Detail of the assets which were
appraised by Simon Lim and Partners Co., Ltd.

The company also approved the acceptance of assets to be
transferred from Print Circuit Co., Ltd (formerly Samart
Print Circuit Co., Ltd.) of the amount Baht 2,392,777 as
part of debt repayment. (Stock Exchange of Thailand
17-Feb-1999)


THAI MODERN: Submits plan for approval
--------------------------------------
Thai Modern Plastic Industry Pcl's planner, South Sathorn
Planners, submitted the rehabilitation plan to the Business
Reorganization Office, Legal Execution Department (BRO), on
February 15, 1999. After the submission of the plan, the
Official Receiver will distribute the copy of the plan to
all creditors. The Official Receiver will then call
creditors meeting to vote for the plan. (Stock Exchange of
Thailand 17-Feb-1999)


THAI OIL: PTT plans reduction in Thai Oil's debt burden
-------------------------------------------------------
The Petroleum Authority of Thailand (PTT) plans to reduce
debt obligations of its subsidiary Thai Oil from $1.9
billion to $1 billion either through requesting its
creditors to cut lending rates or by converting part of the
debt to equity, said PTT Deputy Governor Pichai
Chunhavajira.

Pichai said the debt reduction plan would ease a severe
liquidity problem of the country's largest refiner, which
announced a debt moratorium on its entire loan burden in
November last year. Thai Oil's financial restructuring plan
is being drafted by financial advisor Chase Manhattan Bank.

Pichai said PTT and Thai Oil are negotiating with Thai
Oil's 124 creditors over a rate reduction and a debt-to-
equity swap. After that, PTT will inject fresh capital into
Thai Oil, which will have to increase its capital to about
6 billion baht from the existing of only 20 million baht.

PTT owns 49 percent of Thai Oil. Other shareholders include
the Chowkwanyuan family, Royal Dutch Shell and Caltex.

Under the plan, creditors will be asked to swap about $450
million into equity in the refinery, while PTT will inject
another $450 million into Thai Oil.

Thai Oil expects its debt restructuring plan to be
finalized within November this year.

"The injection of fresh funds to Thai Oil is aimed at
enabling the company to continue with its operation," he
said.

"Thai Oil's revenue at the moment isn't enough to cover its
expense and debt payment," he said. (Business Day
[Thailand] 17-Feb-1999)


S U B S C R I P T I O N   I N F O R M A T I O N

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